Vegetarian dad broke world weightlifting record wants to set an example for weightlifters

A vegetarian father-of-one has smashed a world weightlifting record by becoming the lightest person in history to lift 100kg over his head - with ONE arm.

Josh Lancaster, 31, became the pound-for-pound champion for a single-arm dumbbell lift by raising the dumbbell which was more than 20 per cent heavier than him.

Josh, who weighs 79kg, hoisted the colossal dumbbell over his head at Kaos Strength Gym in Preston, Lancs., for a few seconds until a judge ruled he had control of it.

He said: “I wanted to be the lightest person in history, of all time, to lift 100kg over the head with one arm, so that’s what I did as my main lift.

“It was quite surreal, and I got so absorbed in the process of doing it. It will probably take a couple of weeks for it to sink in.

Despite his incredible achievement, Josh believes he’ll be able to lift even heavier weights in the future.

He added: “I think I could have lifted 105 maybe, and within the next five years, I want to win World’s Strongest Man – that’s the goal.”

Josh, from Lancaster, began weight training six years ago when he was around 115kg (18 stone) after his ‘Strongwoman’ wife introduced him to the sport.

But instead of building up his food intake to grow even heavier, Josh said he actually lost 35kg as he honed his pure skills as a weightlifter.

And he ignored the stereotypical weight-lifter diet of meat and protein shakes for vegetarian alternatives.